The Faculty Artist Series presents Eastman Virtuosi, a trio of Eastman School of Music faculty members, Friday, March 2, at 8 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. Made up of Masumi Per Rostad, viola (Associate Professor), Alexander Kobrin, piano (Assistant Professor), and Alan Harris, cello (Distinguished Professor), the trio is performing a program that includes pieces by Caplet, Henri Duparc, Alexander Scriabin, and Schostakovich.
Masumi Per Rostad, a new addition to Eastman’s Strings, Harp and Guitar Department, has forged a career both as a soloist and as a member of the Pacifica Quartet. Rostad has served on the faculties of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University, and given numerous solo and chamber music master classes at schools, venues, and festivals including the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Colburn School, the New York Youth Symphony, Suntory Hall, Sydney Conservatory, the Royal College of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Aspen and Bowdoin festivals. Rostad has also been a contributing writer to such publications as Strings, Gramophone, The Huffington Post, and The Guardian.
Alexander Kobrin has won top prizes in international piano competitions, including the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, First Prize in the Busoni and Scottish competitions, and Top Prize at the Hamamatsu competition. Kobrin’s recitals and performances have been praised for their brilliant technique, musicality, and emotional engagement with the audience. He has appeared with many of the world’s great orchestras, including the New York, Tokyo, Warsaw, Royal Liverpool, and Moscow Philharmonics; the Dallas, Birmingham, Swedish Radio, Berliner, and BBC Symphonies; and the Russian National Orchestra, British Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Verdi, Orchestre de las Suisse Romande, and Chicago Sinfonietta. In addition to his acclaimed performances, Kobrin has served on the faculties of the Gnessin Academy of Music and New York University’s Steinhardt School, and held the L. Rexford Whiddon Distinguished Chair in Piano at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Georgia.
Alan Harris has been a faculty member at Eastman, through sever stints, for over 50 years. He has his BM through the University of Kansas; MM, Performer’s Certificate, Indiana University. Harris has studied with Raymond Stuhl and Janos Starker and also recorded for Vox. He has held master classes, solo and chamber music performances throughout the United States and held a position on the artist faculty at Aspen Music Festival for a time starting in the 70’s. He is the recipient of the Eva Janzer Memorial Award at Indiana University for universal contributions to the art and teaching of cello playing in 2004. He has performed with the Cleveland Quartet, the Eastman Quartet and Rochester Chamber Soloists, been a principal cellist for the Rochester Chamber Orchestra (1966-72) and Eastman Chamber Orchestra (1965-68), and an assistant principal cellist with the Rochester Philharmonic (1965-69).
The Faculty Artist Series is generously supported by Patricia Ward-Baker.
Tickets for Eastman’s Faculty Artist Series are $10 for the general public and free to current Season Subscribers. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St.; by phone (585) 274-3000; or online at http://eastmantheatre.org
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About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training. The current dean is Jamal Rossi, appointed in 2014.
About 900 students are enrolled in Eastman’s Collegiate Division– about 500 undergraduate and 400 graduate students. Students come from almost every state, and approximately 20 percent are from other countries. They are guided by more than 95 full-time faculty members. Six alumni and three faculty members have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, as have numerous GRAMMYÒ Awards. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 700 concerts to the Rochester community.